Market raises key funds

FUNDED: Members of the Eyre Gymnastics Club are presented with a cheque for $3000 by the Peppercorn Markets Team: Argiri Kotsomitis, Michelle Martin, Kristy McLeod, Caroline Rigg, and Jodie Goodwin

The Peppercorn Markets team have once again treated the community to a successful market while also raising important funds for a local volunteer organisation.

The group’s latest market held on Mother’s Day raised $3000 for the Eyre Gymnastics Club, with more than 2000 people flocking to Samaritan College to check out the food and craft stalls on the day.

Organiser Argiri Kotsomitis said there was a focus on having something for everyone at the market.

“We changed the layout up a little bit, making it more inclusive. We had a lot of positive feedback from people saying there was plenty of variety in the stalls,” she said.

“We had plenty of things for the kids to do, including a kinder gym and activities run by D’faces of Youth Arts. There were families coming in to spend the day there, rather than just 5 minutes.”

A total of 65 stalls were available on the day, with stallholders giving positive feedback back to the organisers.

So far the Peppercorn Markets team, which is made up of Ms Kotsomitis, Michelle Martin, Kristy McLeod, Caroline Rigg, and Jodie Goodwin, have raised $8500 for local organisations through their markets.

“We decided to donate the funds to Eyre Gymnastics because it’s such a big group, there’s a lot of children and families involved,” Ms Kotsomitis said.

“They are going to do a lot with that money which will benefit many local families.”

Many Eyre Gymnastics volunteers helped out on the day, including Team Leader Robert Schofield.

“I had a great day, it was very fun,” he said.

“This funding is a very big boost for us because this is a club run by volunteers. We don’t go out looking to make a profit, we rely on fundraising and donations like this one from Peppercorn.

“We are constantly upgrading equipment and making sure that the kids have everything that they need to do in order to perform at the highest level in their competitions.”